Our job responsibilities as a coach of young athletes is many. We are responsible for the right training, for their health and well being, for monitoring their success as a student first and an athlete second, and for helping to usher them into adulthood as a good world citizen. As we invest in their fitness, we must also invest in their future. Our hopes for them go far beyond our goals as successful coaches. We must also hope for them a successful life. Veteran coaches, Laura Caldwell and Melissa Hill, will help you guide your athletes into the next phase of their lives as an athlete at a D1, D2, or D3 school or as a club competitor. This information can help your athletes make the right choice as individuals for the next step. Included below are three insightful interviews with two collegiate athletes and one high school athlete on the process and experience of running in college.

Recruiting of HS Track and Field/Cross Country Athletesby Laura Caldwell

If you are a high school track and field/cross country coach, chances are you have had the opportunity to help promising athletes with their recruitment to college track programs, big and small. And since you have this opportunity, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules the NCAA has in place for the recruiting process--a task you should do every year, as changes occur almost on a yearly basis. The bare minimum would be pointing your athletes to the NCAA.org website to read up on the rules. However, there are certain things you can do to help your athlete have a successful recruiting process other than knowing the rules of the game.

The first thing should be getting your athlete to the school counselor to discuss what classes are needed to attend accredited colleges. The longer they wait, the tougher it will be to catch up academically later if need be. Granted many schools address their student body on college requirements for attending college. But it is important to make sure that the discussion has happened along with what schools the athlete may be interested in attending. Encourage them to start a notebook to keep brochures on each college and any correspondence they receive. For eligibility information: http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/CBSA19.pdf

Next, by understanding the NCAA recruiting rules, you can help your athlete navigate what they can do to help the process along as well as what a college coach is allowed to do. (As a side note, if you or your athlete thinks a college coach has overstepped, i.e. broken a rule, every D1 institution has a compliance officer that you can contact listed on their website.) If the athlete has a certain school or schools of interest, help them contact that institution to introduce themselves. This lets the college coach know your athlete is interested in their program. Since recruitment is not allowed until an athlete’s junior year, know that no coach can contact your sophomore, but the athlete can call or contact the college coach at their own expense.

Once college coaches are allowed to contact your athlete by letter, email or text (beginning September 1 of their junior year), impress upon your athlete the importance of being prompt and courteous with a reply. College coaches are extremely busy, not only recruiting multiple athletes, but with all the other myriad duties associated with running a college track program. A prompt response saves them from having to work harder to get your attention. On the converse side, if your athlete is not interested in that college’s program, a simple “thank you but I’m not interested” saves everyone’s time.

Starting July 1 after an athlete’s junior year, a college coach is allowed to call and speak to the athlete. These calls help the coach get to know your athlete and your athlete get to determine if the program is a good fit. As their coach now, help them develop questions to ask each college coach that will fill out what each program entails. Having questions to ask helps the athlete participate in a conversation, and will hopefully help their personality shine through.

All athletes are allowed five official visits, one per college, to D1 programs beginning September 1 of their junior year (D2, D3 and NAIA are unlimited, as are unofficial visits to D1 programs). Talk with your athlete before they visit any college about etiquette, behavior, and what is expected from them. Help them to determine if the school is a good fit, not just athletically, but academically as well. They will need to like being at the college they end up attending. Impress upon them that the college has invited them at its expense. This will hopefully reinforce the importance of first impressions and good behavior.

Lastly, when all the visits are completed and your athlete has decided where they want to matriculate and spend the next four+ years of their running career, make sure they promptly contact all the other coaches to let them know what that decision is. Impress upon them that this will not be the first “no” the coach has gotten and it helps the coach to move on to other athletes still interested in their programs.

Getting recruited can be an exciting time for your athlete, but it is also very stressful because they are trying to determine where the next chapter of their lives will be written. As their high school coach, you can help ease this transition and send them on their way to a happy, fulfilling college experience.

Our job responsibilities as a coach of young athletes is many.We are responsible for the right training, for their health and well being, for monitoring their success as a student first and an athlete second, and for helping to usher them into adulthood as a good world citizen.

Three Interviews of recruited athletes and their collegiate experiencesby Melissa Hill

As we encourage our athletes to consider running in college, I wanted to learn about the recruiting and collegiate experience of three of my former athletes. I believe there is a lot to learn from their answers, and I thank them for their honest assessments.​

L.B. - HS Senior

Were you recruited to run for a specific college or university? How many? I was recruited by several universities in and around Missouri. Many of them sent letters to my school expressing interest, however for the most part I was looking to attend a school outside of the Midwest.

Did you reach out to colleges/universities through their website or through your high school coach?I reached out to a handful of schools through their websites, filling out their recruiting questionnaire and also sending the head coach an email with some more information about myself.

Were you already interested in the school (or schools) for academic reasons?Yes, many of the schools that I reached out to I had found out about through their academics, and from there I looked at their cross country and track programs to make a more detailed judgement about the university.

How involved were your parents in your decision making?Honestly, my parents were pretty hands-off during the process. They knew that I had an idea of what was best for me and they trusted me to make the best decision for myself. They offered guidance when I needed it, but they were mostly there for support.

How involved were your high school coaches in assisting the recruiting process and decision making?They were somewhat involved, but again, mostly from a supportive stance. They encouraged me to put myself out there to some programs that I was unsure about, and they assured me when I was having doubts about my future.

What were determining factors in your choice of school?The most important factor for me was that I would like the school with or without running. I had to remind myself that an injury or some unfortunate circumstance could come and take the running aspect away from me at any time, so I made sure that the academics, professors, student life, and overall feel of the school were as appealing to me as the running program.

Tell us a little about your high school running experience; your relationship with your team and coach.I am truly grateful for my high school running career. I was faced with several challenges, and also had many accomplishments, and I think overall all four years were just a big learning experience for me. My teammates and coaches were nothing but supportive, and I would not trade any of them for the world. I am also grateful for the fact that my coaches never overtrained me, in fact I was pretty undertrained, so I am looking forward to training hard in college and being able to reach my full potential.

What, if anything, would you change about your process of choosing your university?I would definitely start earlier, and do more research on several different schools prior to sending out any emails. I waited too long, honestly out of fear of rejection, and it limited my options when it came down to the final decision. That being said, the school that I chose is perfect for me and I am so grateful that I found it and was able to get in contact with the coach. I just feel that I would've saved myself a lot of stress had I started a bit earlier!

K.W. - DI athlete

Were you recruited to run for a specific college or university? How many?I actually wasn't recruited to run for any specific college or university, as I was closer to the walk-on standards for some of the smaller division one schools. I started visiting colleges in the winter of my senior year and hadn't yet run fast enough track times to meet scholarship standards. I wasn't set on running in college until about June before my freshman year, so I had a little bit of an unconventional "recruiting process".

Did you reach out to colleges/universities through their website or through your high school coach?I reached out to the coaches of a few of the school I was visiting to meet with them casually and see what it would take to be apart of the team. When I visited Colorado State I spoke briefly with Coach Siemers and he told me what standards it would take to be a walk-on. I also went for a run with the girls while I was there which honestly scared me a bit because they were so fast, haha.

I applied to a wide range of out of state schools, including Depauw, Drake, Murray State, Ball State, and Colorado State. I initially chose CSU for the school, and luckily my senior track season and participation in the Festival of Miles allowed me to hit a scholarship time. So, in June 2014 I emailed Coach Siemers again updating him on my improvement and luckily he sent over scholarship documents for me to sign.

How involved were your parents in your decision making?My parents were heavily involved in the process and came along with me on all of my visits, but ultimately the decision was entirely up to me. I was and am still very grateful for the ability to go out of state for college and have parents that allow me to make big decisions on my own.

How involved were your high school coaches in assisting the recruiting process and decision making?As I said before I wasn't set on running in college so I didn't reach out to my coaches that much, but they definitely encouraged me to at least try collegiate running.

What were determining factors in your choice of school?The determining factors of why I chose CSU was the campus itself and location. I didn't take an official visit or anything at CSU but got extremely lucky the program was a perfect fit for me.

Tell us a little about your collegiate running experience; your relationship with your team and coach.My college running experience overall was extremely positive. With CSU being a smaller school in the Mountain West Conference I was able to run at the division one level but still have some success along the way and be apart of two Conference Championship Teams. The coaches were very insistent that increasing mileage would lead to success so freshman year was a bit of an adjustment for me. I went from running maybe 15-20 miles a week in high school to hitting 70 miles a week my junior and senior year of college and this is what I attribute my success to. The program, coaches, and team were like a family and I've made life-long friends through college running. I would say the only negative aspect was I got hurt a lot in the later stages of my career and was unable to complete my final track and cross country seasons due to injury. The pressures of college running and the pressure I put on myself made me run through a lot of pain my last year which I think tainted my experience in the end. Although, again my coaches and athletic trainers were very supportive along the way.​What, if anything, would you change about your process of choosing your university?Looking back maybe I would've considered college running a little sooner but honestly, I wouldn't really change anything because I personally needed more time to develop to hit fast enough times. Maybe I would have considered D2 & D3 schools more but I like that I got the D1 experience on a smaller scale. ​Hopefully, this helps someone struggling to decide on college running or not. I would recommend just trying it and sticking it out a year at least because it has been one of the best decisions and greatest blessings in my life so far.

V.S. - DII athlete

Were you recruited to run for a specific college or university? How many?I believe some schools sent me a few emails about running, but it was not as active of a process as I remember some of my teammates having nor were they schools that I was particularly interested in attending. I was not specifically recruited to the university where I ran.

Did you reach out to colleges/universities through their website or through your high school coach?I personally reached out to the coach via email to set up a meeting when I was going to be on campus in January for academic scholarship interviews. I also visited a second time with my friend and teammate, who was also planning on attending the same university and was interested in continuing to run. During my initial visit, the coach seemed fairly indifferent to me joining the team or not. Then, at the second visit, which was near the end of my senior year, he seemed to be more active in trying to recruit me (and my teammate): he offered us both scholarships (although I had at $500 limit due to my academic scholarships) and he set up a meeting with current members of the team.

If so, were you already interested in the school (or schools) for academic reasons?Yes, academics and price were my primary reasons for selecting the school. Running was considered an extra.

How involved were your parents in your decision making?My parents encouraged me to talk to the coaches at the schools I was looking at, but ultimately left the decision of whether or not I was going to run and which school I chose to me. They were supportive of whatever decision that I made, and facilitated getting information to make that decision without actively swaying me one way or another.

How involved were your high school coaches in assisting the recruiting process and decision making?My high school coaches were similar to my parents in that they encouraged me to continue my running career if it was what I wanted.

What were determining factors in your choice of school?Mainly the academic quality versus the price. The opportunity to run was considered an added bonus. I was initially excited to be running Division II because I thought it would provide me the opportunity to focus primarily on academics, while still having the opportunity to continue trying to improve. I loved running at the end of high school, and I felt like I had untapped potential by the end of my senior year that I wanted to try to meet by running at the collegiate level.

Tell us a little about your collegiate running experience; your relationship with your team and coach.Ultimately, I had a negative experience with collegiate running, but it didn’t start out that way. I enjoyed my freshman year cross country season and was actively breaking PRs from high school. I was so excited to be in the best shape I had ever been in and was eager to improve, no matter what it took. An older teammate advised me that if I wanted to get better then I should push myself harder on my easy run days and increase mileage: advice that worked for her, but was not the right training plan for me. That winter, I overtrained and ran through shin splints until I couldn’t. I ended up redshirting indoor track, and the improvements that I had seen like in my cross country season occurred less often, until I reached a plateau.​During my sophomore year, I faced more injuries—I reinjured a knee that I had hurt over the Summer during weight training and subsequently my hips got out of alignment due to compensating for that pain. As the time lengthened where I kept posting disappointing times, my frustration mounted, my enjoyment for running waned, and I became increasingly depressed. At the same time, my coach became more disengaged toward me. At the beginning of the season, he would say that he wanted to talk to each individual after his/her race, but would actively seek out those who did well and ignore those that were not up to his standards. Personally, when I was already auto-critical, his apathy towards me made me even more disinclined to talk to him. After one meet, I remember walking toward him, and he turned and walked away. Maybe he didn’t really see me, but that day I ended up sitting outside the arena by myself and just cried.I ended up taking a hiatus from track after that day. I still went to practice, but did not go to any meets and took a break from competing. Toward the end of the season, I tried to confront him in his office about how I felt like he was ignoring me because I wasn’t doing well, but he was unreceptive and berated me for not doing enough to improve. He cited my actions and lack of motivation as the problem; everything was my fault. At this time, I realized that I was not valued as a person by this coach, that he wrote me off as worthless instead of working with me on what was going on and getting through this hurdle of burnout in my running career.

It amazes me that I didn’t quit after that moment. The only reasons I stayed for the following cross country and indoor track seasons were because my friends were on the team and I was raised to finish what I started. Faced with extreme negativity to the sport that I used to love, I tried to make running fun again for myself and not take competing quite so seriously. While this approach slightly helped, I gradually felt more and more isolated from my teammates, who didn’t really understand my perspective on running and thought that I wasn’t taking it seriously enough. It was a small team, and there wasn’t really room for someone to take it easy for a while and get back on track with running. Once I felt alienated from my friends, my resolve to stick it out until I graduated crumbled. And in the end, the only person from cross country that kept in consistent contact with me after I wasn’t on the team anymore was my teammate from high school.

What, if anything, would you change about your process of choosing your university? If I am reflecting on my choice in university solely based on running, then I wish I had found a program where the coach and team supported each other through highs and lows, and the athletes were valued as students and people first. Instead, I feel like I was lied to during the recruitment process, and believed he had athletes' interest in mind when he did not. For example, the coach assured me that they run on gravel and dirt trails frequently, only to find out come the season that he does not believe that running surface makes a difference in injury rate (as long as female runners eat enough red meat). In this sense, I would have liked to have had a little more guidance of how to tease out a coach’s true nature and the questions to ask him and the team in order to evaluate the program. For example, if I asked about the retention rate of the program, I might have found out how many students end up quitting cross country and track from my school. I didn’t find out until later about the politics behind the recruiting process, which might have helped me choose a cross country/track program better suited for me.

But, ultimately, I did not choose my university based on the running program. In my main reasons for choosing my college, I got what I went there for, and that is still what is most important to me. Part of the reason why I finally quit running was to realign my focus and energy to academics. Yes, I am disappointed with how my relationship with running turned out, and I honestly can’t say that I would choose to run in college if I were given the option to go through this process again with the school I chose. Sometimes I wish I had more variety in options for running in college because at least then it might have been a larger factor in choosing my school. But, then again, it’s hard to say in hindsight if it would have changed my choice. Overall, I am grateful for what I learned about myself even through the ordeal that collegiate running was for me, and for what my university did provide me in terms of an education.

We are pleased to announce the addition of Amy Yoder Begley to the WRCC's Committee. As a woman who has run at the high school, college, international and Olympic level, and is now the coach of the 21,000 plus Atlantic Track Club, Amy will bring to the WRCC a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. We are so excited to have her join our efforts to get more women involved in the coaching profession.

We are excited to announce the the WRCC will hold a session at the Nike NW Track and Field Clinic on January 11th and 12th at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton Oregon. Our session will be on Saturday, January 12th. A panel of women coaches will talk about their coaching philosophies, share their experiences as women coaches, discuss topics ranging from "how to build a team" to "planning out your season through periodization". An exciting group of women coaches will be announced in the next few newsletters. More information can be found at www.trackclinic.netPlease Join Us!

Leigh Daniel Cordes is the Head Cross Country and Track and Field Coach at Lubbock Christian University. She is also the mom of three children under the age of 6! She juggles coaching and parenting along with her husband Nick Cordes, director of Cross Country, and Track and Field at LCU. She began running as a senior in high school, later attending Texas Tech and becoming a 9-time All American in track and cross country. During her college career she won 7 Big 12 Conference titles, and was a 2-time NCAA Champion in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. In 1999 Leigh won the 10,000 meters at the World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Like many women, Leigh's journey has been about finding balance in her life. As a head coach, a mother of three, and a wife, her story is one of courage, commitment, love, and joy.

​As a very successful high school and college athlete, how did you make the transition from athlete to coach? What did you bring from your running career into coaching? I think the most important thing I brought from my own racing and training into my coaching is empathy. I have been through tough races, injuries, sickness, relationship issues, and other aspects of life that a college athlete may encounter. I know what I felt like as an athlete, trying to get the most out of my running while dealing with lots of different things. As a coach I can be empathetic towards my athletes and share with them how I was able to deal with all of these issues and help them learn from my experiences. My favorite part of coaching is helping college kids walk through a time that can be very stressful, and encouraging them to stay positive. Your husband is the Lubbock Christian University's director of cross country and track, Nick Cordes. As coaches, how do you both handle the time demands and stress of coaching and raising your family? Well, our life can be a bit crazy. We have a sitter that comes at 5:30 a.m. on the weekdays to watch our kids while we are at practice. Then after practice we divide and conquer getting them ready for school/day care. We have Carsyn(6), Drew(5), and Masyn(2). Their ages make for a lot of chaos. Luckily, we are able to spend most afternoon/evenings together as a family because of our schedule. Nick and I try to get all recruiting, meetings, and planning done while the kids are at school. We both have our roles, and I am blessed to have a very hands on husband. He does everything from laundry to getting the girls' hair done. We have to be teammates or it would not work. We have had to learn over the last 11 years of coaching together how to have a good work dynamic. We have to compromise quite a bit as we are both strong willed. I do not like being told what to do; so Nick learned early on that he needed to ask me to do something, and not tell me! We love what we do and could not feel more blessed to be able to work together and do what we are passionate about.

"Love yourself and be confident in who you are. I am so much more comfortable in my own skin at 40 than I was at 20. If I felt this way at 20, I would definitely have been happier and made better decisions. If something hurts, take 2 days off. I make my runners do this all the time and it usually saves you from taking 6 weeks off. "- Leigh Daniel Cordes

What advice would you give your younger runner self? So much advice!! Trust God! Always trust God. He will not let you down and has a plan for you. . . I promise! Love yourself and be confident in who you are. I am so much more comfortable in my own skin at 40 than I was at 20. If I felt this way at 20, I would definitely have been happier and made better decisions. If something hurts, take 2 days off. I make my runners do this all the time and it usually saves you from taking 6 weeks off. Eat more good food and don't compare yourself to others.

As a high school runner, you battled eating issues. What perspective does this bring to your coaching of young athletes? What advice and information can you give to other coaches who have athletes who have eating issues? I think my own eating issues have helped me a lot in coaching young athletes. Luckily, I was able to over come an eating disorder before I became a college runner, but it was still hard to stay healthy on the college team. In the 90s, college runners were trying to be as skinny as possible. I didn't want to starve myself, but I was definitely aware of my weight. I know I was not eating enough to supplement my training. I learned so much after college when I joined a professional team. The best women in the country were eating a lot of calories and making sure that they fueled properly. It completely changed how I looked at food and training, and helped me to become much healthier. If they were the best, then I wanted to do what they were doing. I actually became so much leaner when I ate enough of the right foods. We know so much more now about how eating too little will affect runners long term (amenorrhea, osteoporosis, depression, stress fractures). I'm so glad that athletes are now taught to fuel properly to be strong and lean, not stick skinny. It didn't work for very long the old way. We have become smarter. I do try to instill healthy attitudes toward food and weight in my athletes. I can spot a problem a million miles away. If you catch it early, it is so much easier to help them make healthy decisions about weight loss. We have a dietician who comes and talks about a good runner's diet to make sure that they understand how to eat to prevent fatigue and injury.

"Well, our life can be a bit crazy. We have a sitter that comes at 5:30 a.m. on the weekdays to watch our kids while we are at practice. Then after practice we divide and conquer getting them ready for school/day care. We have Carsyn(6), Drew(5), and Masyn(2). Their ages make for a lot of chaos. Luckily, we are able to spend most afternoon/evenings together as a family because of our schedule. Nick and I try to get all recruiting, meetings, and planning done while the kids are at school. We both have our roles, and I am blessed to have a very hands on husband. He does everything from laundry to getting the girls' hair done. "- Leigh Daniel Cordes

What are the personal traits that you feel made you a national class runner? Where they instilled in you by a coach, or where they personality traits that were internal? If your traits were motivated by a coach how do you convey them to your current athletes? I do think I am genetically wired to be a good runner. Running always came easily for me as a kid. I tend to be the type of person that is motivated to do things on my own. I would shoot baskets in my driveway for hours, hit on the backboard in tennis all afternoon and never miss a run or workout once I started running cross country. So, I did not need a coach to motivate or push me. Probably needed a coach to hold me back a bit! I do my best with a coach that is encouraging and believes in me. Therefore, I naturally coach my athletes that way (Nick can give them a kick in the butt if they need one!). I went through some tough times with my family as a kid and I think those experiences helped to make me more mentally tough in races.

Who is a key coach from your running career, and what coaching advice of theirs do you still useI have been blessed to have a few great coaches. I happened to run my fastest times under Dave Smith (coach at Oklahoma State University for the last 15 years). He is a very smart guy and I think his approach to training worked well for me. He did a good job of giving me the right mileage and workouts but most importantly he listened to me and made sure I did not over train. He was very laid back and encouraging. It was a good mix for my high strung runner self. I use some of the workouts that we did (even though they are very commonly used). I have a few that I think are key for good training. I definitely learned that it is better to be slightly under trained than to be over trained and exhausted.What keeps you passionate about coaching? It never feels like a job. I love all aspects of running and helping the athletes reach their goals. There is no better feeling than watching one of my athletes run a PR and the joy that comes with that. I don't love the administrative side of things (Nick is much better with that) but I love the relationships and the cheering for my athletes in workouts and races.

What advice, if any, do you have for women contemplating a coaching career? I would say, go for it! It is such a rewarding job. It can be a little tough to juggle having children and coaching but you can make it work. You just have to manage your time wisely. We are very lucky at LCU to have our kids around at practice, if it is in the afternoon, and sometimes our kids will travel to meets with us. I think college women could always use more female role models and it is easier for girls to come to a female coach about certain issues. I know there were things I could not talk to my male coach about. I hope that we will continue to see more women in head college coaching positions in the near future.

"It never feels like a job. I love all aspects of running and helping the athletes reach their goals.There is no better feeling than watching one of my athletes run a PR and the joy that comes with that. I don't love the administrative side of things (Nick is much better with that) but I love the relationships and the cheering for my athletes in workouts and races."- Leigh Daniel Cordes

"The best support you can give an athlete is the confidence that you are there for them for the duration, the confidence that your support of them does not depend on their times or marks but on their dedication to doing their best. -Amy Yoder Begley

This is Part 2 of an extraordinary interview with the Yoder Begleys about Amy's career, the transition from athlete to coach, their coaching philosophy, and working together. And what it is like to be the first female full-time coach of the 21,000 strong Atlanta T.C! This remarkable woman has so much to say about coaching and life. ​The WRCC is honored to bring to you this interview with Olympic Distance Runner Amy Yoder Begley about her journey from runner to coach. Along with her coaching partner and husband, Andrew Begley, Amy has gracefully made the transition from being coached to coaching. Her resume is stunning--a Midwest girl holding numerous Indiana HS records and titles, an All-American 15 times, and a two time NCAA Champion at University of Arkansas. In 2008 she became an Olympic Team qualifier with an inspired and courageous finish in the 10,000 meter race in Eugene, Oregon. She struggled and overcame a diagnosis of celiac disease. She trained and competed as a member of the prestigious Nike Oregon Project, competing against the best in the world. In 2013 she was named the Head Cross Country Coach and Women's Assistant Track and Field Coach at the University of Connecticut. In 2016 she became the first full time coach of the Atlantic Track Club along with her husband Andrew.

I have read you were diagnosed in 2006 with celiac disease. Has living with this disease helped you to be a more intuitive and sympathetic coach? Many of our readers deal with athletes who have serious medical conditions, such as celiac. Could you give any advice on how to support and coach an athlete with a serious condition?I think that having celiac and the issues that came with it helps me to notice things in others.

The best support you can give an athlete is the confidence that you are there for them for the duration, the confidence that your support of them does not depend on their times or marks but on their dedication to doing their best.

You can help them find the best support system to deal with the condition. You can help them navigate the information when it becomes hard to make decisions.

Andrew and I want to help the athletes become great athletes and people. We want to give them more than just athletic experiences.

How have the coaches you have had over the years influenced how you coach today? What do you remember about your high school, college, and professional coaches that motivated and inspired you to reach such a high level of achievement in running?A local female runner inspired me to start running. I would see her running around the park when we walked the dogs.

I have had all male coaches during my career. In middle school, they only had a boys team, and I loved racing with the boys.

In high school, my coach was a former football coach who really tried hard to give us direction. I had an AAU club coach, Jim Mills, who really taught me a lot about running. Andrew (Begley) coached me during my senior year in high school. I was 2nd at Foot Locker and qualified for Junior Worlds in Sydney Australia in the 5,000m.

Lance Harter was my college coach who introduced me to a great network in the running world. I loved my college years and career at Arkansas.

Andrew (Begley) coached me the first 6 years of my pro career.

Alberto Salazar coached me from 2007 to 2011. He taught me how to work hard. I thought I knew how to work hard until I joined the Oregon Project. I think it would be hard on a marriage to have your spouse work you that hard.

I tried to run for another year after that, but the body was done.

Coaching is an intense career. The stress and hours are hard on coaches and their families. What do you do to alleviate those stresses and time commitments? What advice do you have for coaches to help balance out their lives?

Finding a partner and support network is key. If you don’t have people in your corner to help you or encourage you to keep going, it is very easy to leave the sport. Coaching with Andrew allows us to divide things up or take on more or less if needed. I am very lucky to be able to coach with my spouse.

When Andrew and I need a break, we try to stay 1-2 days after a track meet or road race to see the city or see a National Park. We have stopped at layovers for a day to see a National Park or visit family. That is doable for pro coaches, but college coaches don’t have that opportunity due to traveling with the team.

At home, we have the dogs.

My advice for college coaches is to come up with a compromise on a schedule that will keep you sane. For example, you can work from home half a day to take care of the dog and things like laundry. ​

"Alberto Salazar coached me from 2007 to 2011. He taught me how to work hard. I thought I knew how to work hard until I joined the Oregon Project. I think it would be hard on a marriage to have your spouse work you that hard." -Amy Yoder Begley

What advice can you give to a young woman who wants to become a running coach? What is important to you as a coach that you could pass on to another female coach? If you are a college athlete or professional athlete, start networking at meets. Ask your coach to introduce you to race directors and other college coaches. My college coach, Lance Harter, did that for me. At the time, I didn’t even realize what a gift it was that he introduced me to other coaches and meet directors.

Getting involved with USATF will also introduce you to people and the inner workings of your sport.

Learn about the physiology and biomechanics of the sport. If you want to be more valuable as a coach, learn other events so that you are not just a distance coach or jumps coach. You can also read the books of many of the current and former great coaches.

There are also coaching classes and certifications, like USATF and RRCA.

What makes you still passionate about our sport of running?I enjoy helping people of all abilities work toward their goals. I enjoy helping a new runner develop a love for the sport, as much as I like helping elite runners chase their Olympic dreams. Our sport has a lot to offer to both of these groups, and everyone in between. I also enjoy watching the sport evolve. We have learned so much over the years. Technology has allowed people to share information and helps us to further the sport. It is rewarding to help young athletes to avoid some of the mistakes that we have made over the years. ​Finally, it has been rewarding to watch women take a more prominent role in our sport. After college, there were very few options for professional women. In today’s world, there are many options. After college, a reporter interviewed Andrew and me about our goals as professional athletes. I was asked when I was getting a “real job” and when I wanted to have kids. Andrew didn’t get any similar questions. It was eye-opening. We have made good progress in accepting that it is okay for women to chase their dreams, but we still have a long way to go. It is easier to recruit talented men because more men stick around after college. One of my goals is to continue to help more women stay in the sport.

It is also inspirational to see more women coaching. I want to do everything that I can to perpetuate this trend. ​

"If you are a college athlete or professional athlete, start networking at meets. Ask your coach to introduce you to race directors and other college coaches. My college coach, Lance Harter, did that for me. At the time, I didn’t even realize what a gift it was that he introduced me to other coaches and meet directors." -Amy Yoder Begley

You ARE the Women's Running Coaches Collective.This is your journey too!

Melissa HillNikki RafieHelene HutchinsonCharlotte Lettis RichardsonLaura Caldwell PLEASE contact us at womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comTell us what you think, what you know, and what you would like to learn.

"It was a hard decision to leave college coaching. There were not many women coaching, and I hated to leave it. However, I was also entering a coaching world that had even fewer women in it. There are only a handful of women who coach post-collegiate groups." - Amy Yoder Begley

The WRCC is honored to bring to you an interview with Olympic Distance Runner Amy Yoder Begley about her journey from runner to coach. Along with her coaching partner and husband, Andrew Begley, Amy has gracefully made the transition from being coached to coaching. Her resume is stunning--a Midwest girl holding numerous Indiana HS records and titles, an All-American 15 times, and a two time NCAA Champion at University of Arkansas. In 2008 she became an Olympic Team qualifier with an inspired and courageous finish in the 10,000 meter race in Eugene, Oregon. She struggled and overcame a diagnosis of celiac disease. She trained and competed as a member of the prestigious Nike Oregon Project, competing against the best in the world. In 2013 she was named the Head Cross Country Coach and Women's Assistant Track and Field Coach at the University of Connecticut. In 2016 she became the first full time coach of the Atlantic Track Club along with her husband Andrew.

This is Part 1 of an extraordinary interview with the Yoder Begleys about Amy's career, the transition from athlete to coach, their coaching philosophy, and working together. And what it is like to be the first female full-time coach of the 21,000 strong Atlanta T.C! This remarkable woman has so much to say about coaching and life.

Amy, we know you as an Olympian, an All American, a National Champion, a Record Holder and inspirational athlete. We’d like to hear about your transition from elite distance runner to coach. Was it a hard transition to make?It was a hard transition because it was not on my terms. I had an injury that would not heal. At this point I was almost 34 years old. I had been running “professionally” for 12 years. I say that because I had a lot of part-time jobs when I was training and racing.

I had an Exercise Science/Biomechanics degree from Arkansas. My plan had been to go to Physical Therapy School. My science classes were too old, and they wanted me to retake Physics and Organic Chemistry. I didn’t like those classes the first time, and I didn’t want to take them again.

I started applying to coaching jobs and other wellness-type jobs. In 2012, all of my job applications were turned down. Andrew and I had a plan to coach together in college. We thought it would take 10+ years to get to a position that we could do that.

The USOC had a great program to help athletes transition to the working world. They helped with resumes, networking and online classes. During that time, there was a lot of buzz about the first women who competed in marathons, road races and track & field.

I was networking with all my contacts for job opportunities. The RRCA was in the process of doing an Oral History Project on the Women Pioneers of Running. They hired me to interview as many of these women as we could find. This job ended up being just what I needed at the right time.

I was able to talk to all these women who fought for the right to compete and paved the way for the rest of us. It was the best therapy for me at the time.

In 2013, I was contacted about the Head XC and Assistant Track Job at the University of Connecticut (UConn). I was hired in August, with very little time to move from Oregon to Connecticut. It was a very steep learning curve that year, but it was a great start into college coaching.

In 2014, Jack Wickens sent me the link to the job opening at the Atlanta Track Club. He said I should apply and thought I would be a great fit for the job. I can’t thank him enough for leading me to the Atlanta Track Club. When I read the job description, I knew there were very few coaches who could or would want to do the job. It entailed working with kids, beginner runners and elite athletes. The job covered everything I had worked on and wanted to continue working on.

It was a hard decision to leave college coaching. There were not many women coaching, and I hated to leave it. However, I was also entering a coaching world that had even fewer women in it. There are only a handful of women who coach post-collegiate groups.

In 2014 you were appointed as the first full time coach of the Atlanta Track Club along with your husband Andrew Begley. How have the past 4 years been? What is it like to be a coach of 21,000 plus runners? What are your other responsibilities, both for you and Andrew?The interview process was long for this job. The job was a brand new position for Atlanta Track Club that Rich Kenah put into place. When Rich called to offer me the job, he said that all the applicants had told him this was more than a one person job. He wanted to hire me, but he also wanted to hire Andrew. Our 10-year plan came to be in just 18 months.

In December, I moved down to Atlanta with a few post-collegiate athletes who Andrew and I were coaching. Andrew moved down in January after he finished teaching that semester in Connecticut.

Andrew has been coaching longer. He is a year older than I am and coached me during my senior year in high school. He also coached me for the first 6 years of my professional career before I joined the Oregon Project.

We agree on 90% of the coaching decisions. We each have our strengths and have learned to divide and conquer. That took a couple years to settle out. He is the physiology guy. I am the biomechanics person. He does the budget and apparel. I work with our medical support to make sure the athletes are seeing the massage therapists and physical therapists when needed. I work on mental prep for races. We both work on travel and race plans. He travels more with the team due to my other job responsibilities.

Andrew and I both coach Atlanta Track Club Elite. We also have other duties with the club.

Andrew started the Youth Team and the Cross Country Camp. I am in charge of the In-Training programs for Atlanta Track Club. We have three seasons of training. The fall is Half Marathon and Marathon training. The summer is In-Training for Peachtree. The winter/spring is Publix Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon training. We have also done beginner 5K and Women’s 5K training programs. We are going to start an online version of the training programs as well. I have In-Training practices every Saturday for these programs. I also have mid-week speed workouts for the programs.

On top of those coaching duties, we also help with the events. AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4th is our biggest race. It is the largest 10K in the world with 60,000 participants. We have 30+ events a year from mile races to the Publix Atlanta Marathon. Our favorite event is Wingfoot XC. Andrew and I measure and oversee the course setup.

The club also hosts free Kilometer Kids Mile races and school programs. The elite athletes on the team help with every aspect of the club including setting up events, cleaning up events, attending school programs and pacing the kids’ races.

We both oversee the Masters Team with the help of Andy Carr. The Masters team has been around for over 40 years. Atlanta Track Club is known for its Masters team. We want to continue that tradition and add the Elite Team to that reputation. We won our first Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championship in 2017. We are looking to win a Masters Indoor Championship soon.

How did being an elite athlete help or distract from your role as coach? What strengths from your career as a premier distance runner help you as a coach? Is there any downside to having been at the very top level of your sport, and now being on the other side, as coach?Rich Kenah is the Executive Director. He is an Olympian and a 1:43 800 meter runner who medaled at Indoor Worlds during his career. Afterward, he was an agent. He knows the sport. During my interview, he asked me about being an athlete and now a coach. He wanted to know if any jobs were beneath me. I told him that I didn’t have assistants or GAs at UConn. I made my own Gatorade and carried our team tent. He laughed.

Going from athlete to coach or any job is hard. As an athlete, I had a daily to-do list. I had a set workout, mileage, lifting routine, stretching routine, nap, etc. I could check it off and be done at the end of the day. In the working and coaching world, however, the to-do list is never done. That is the hardest part for me.

Being an elite athlete helps me to understand what the athletes are going through and what they want to accomplish. I also got to see and know what the other coaches and clubs were doing. I am able to use my experience to help them along the way. I like to say that I want to help them avoid the mistakes I made as an athlete so that they can accomplish their goals faster than I did.

Andrew has been a part of my life and career since 1995. He has coached me and watched me achieve big goals. He also knows first hand what it is like to train hard.

"We agree on 90% of the coaching decisions. We each have our strengths and have learned to divide and conquer. That took a couple years to settle out. He is the physiology guy. I am the biomechanics person. He does the budget and apparel. I work with our medical support to make sure the athletes are seeing the massage therapists and physical therapists when needed. I work on mental prep for races. We both work on travel and race plans. He travels more with the team due to my other job responsibilities." - Amy Yoder Begley

You took the Atlanta job with your husband Andrew as coaching partners. You must bring different skills and experiences to your partnership? Could both of you describe the co-coaching relationship you have, and how it works?I answered some of these questions above. I am the extrovert, and he is the introvert. We work well with different athletes and situations. We are opposites who complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Andrew’s thoughts:You have to believe in your assistant or co-coaches. There is a fine line between adding input and second-guessing what the other coach is doing. It works best when you truly divide the tasks. Amy manages our strength training and form training. I will give her advice or input, but in the end she always makes the call. I will never second guess what she is doing.

The other piece is to give new ideas or new strategies a chance to play out. If you over-analyze what you are doing, you might change things up before there is a chance for success. We always let things play out for a season, and then evaluate the season and overall team progress. We talk to the athletes and do a hard self-assessment at the end of each season.

Working with your spouse and doing an honest post-season evaluation sometimes requires thick skin. We are a team, and we both want to help our athletes reach their goals. When you start off the conversation with this in mind, it helps you to understand that both people are working toward the same result.

Amy and Andrew, what are your individual coaching philosophies? How do you work together to highlight each of your strengths and experiences? How do you differ as coaches?Our coaching philosophies match up pretty well. The guiding principle is that everyone is an individual. There is no “right way” to coach every workout. Being a successful collegiate and professional coach is as much about recruiting athletes who respond well to your coaching style as it is getting talented athletes. It works better to get athletes who respond to your style of training than it does to find a style of training that fits your athletes.

We approach middle distance coaching from a strength perspective. Our athletes run from 50 miles up to 85 miles per week. During the fall, we focus on strength. This is when the athletes will hit their highest mileage and do their longest session. They all get up to 12-16 miles for their long run. Workouts are focused on strength (longer repeats and tempos). We do want to maintain their pop and turnover. In the fall, we do short sprints or a few fast repeats at the end of workouts.

During track, we try to limit the volume of speed that they have to do. We will do some aerobic work first and then work on speed. It is common to do 800s or miles, and then a few all-out repeats at the end. During the track season, their mileage will get a little lower. They typically hit the lower end of the range (50-70). For early season races, they will do workouts after their races and also take less time between workouts so that they are prepared for racing through the rounds.

Our marathon runners go through three phases. In the first phase, they build their mileage. The second phase is a preparation phase, where we do some faster work (5k and 10k pace). We do this to make sure that the marathon pace feels comfortable. Finally, they do the marathon block. In this phase, they do a lot more volume, but we focus on half marathon and marathon paces.

We try to get through two of these build-ups each year with our marathon group. If time permits, we like to do a short track season with them, so they can work on their speed a little bit. They typically enjoy running the shorter distances, and it gives them a break from the long grind of marathon training.

As this is a newsletter for women coaches, what has your experience been as a woman in a predominately male profession? Any advice you could give to our readers that would help them be better prepared to navigate the coaching profession?I would ask that women be more open to helping other women. I have been disappointed in the women I have reached out to for advice. In my experience, the male coaches and athletes have been more supportive. I think that this is changing as more women are becoming head coaches.

I would also suggest doing your research when networking or talking with coaches. There are some amazing coaches who don’t tell you all they have accomplished. Some of their accomplishments might have been before you were born. The history of our sport is not passed down.

My biggest piece of advice would be to not waiver on your beliefs and morals. It may not be easy to stand up for what is right, but in the end you will be glad you did.

Part 2 will be published in the October 25th Newsletter. Stay Tuned!

"I would ask that women be more open to helping other women. I have been disappointed in the women I have reached out to for advice. In my experience, the male coaches and athletes have been more supportive. I think that this is changing as more women are becoming head coaches." -Amy Yoder Begley

Our goal is to provide women coaches and athletespositive support, recognition, education, and community.We believe in the "hands up" approach.Let's help each other become the best coaches we can be.Invite others to join us!womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comSign up for our list!

The WRCC Newsletter will now be twice monthly. We have a new Co-Editor, Laura Caldwell, and along with Charlotte Richardson and the W.R.C.C. Committee, we will continue to bring you articles that will be educational, inspirational, and will support you in your job as a coach. There will be interviews with women coaches from the youth, high school, college, and professional levels. We hope to bring you articles about building a team, planning workouts, incorporating strength and conditioning into your programs, coaching leadership and much more to help you as a woman running and field coach. We want to build this community and we need YOUR input to do that!

PLEASE contact us at womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comTell us what you think, what you know, and what you would like to learn.ALL perspectives are welcome and encouraged, and we will try and publish some of the emails. We are looking for good ideas and suggestions!This is your journey too!You ARE the Women's Running Coaches Collective.Melissa HillNikki RafieHelene HutchinsonCharlotte Lettis RichardsonLaura Caldwell

The Women's Running Coaches Collective is excited and honored to bring you Part 2 of our interview with distance runner and cancer surviver, Serena Burla. Her strength, courage, and running talent will inspire and help you understand your role as a coach in an athlete's life.

"I am motivated to do the hard work because the heart knows when you are pushing yourself for growth, and when you are settling. Walking away from practice or a race when you know deep down you didn’t give your all or let negativity win, is the worst. Also, as an athlete the daily sacrifices are so great that you owe it to yourself to be the best you can be. When I didn’t know what my future would hold after my cancer diagnosis, one of the things that gave me peace was that I didn’t have regrets. I had put my heart and soul into everything I had done up to that point and looking back, the journey has been a messy beautiful ride for which I was grateful."- Serena Burla

Serena Burla Running Hero Biography by Laura Caldwell

If it seems that Serena Burla has been running for most of her life, she has. Having a father who has coached the Waukesha West girls’ high school track and field and cross country teams for the last 43 years while growing up in Waukesha, WI, encouraged her to begin competing in short distances in the third grade. While at West, Serena led her team to one runner up and three state cross country team titles. After high school, she competed for the University of Missouri in distance races. While a Tiger she was two-time Big 12 Conference runner-up and attained all-American status in the 10,000 meters in 2006.

After college, she married her college boyfriend, Adam Burla, a shot putter at Missouri, moved to St. Louis and hung up her competitive racing shoes, running just for fun. However, as with any competitive spirit, her running career was far from over. Coach Isaya Okwyia of the running group, Riadha (Swahili for athletics) discovered how well she had run in high school and college and felt she had potential. Burla wanted to try the marathon and Okwyia recognized her potential for success.

Planning on training for a few years before running a marathon in the spring of 2010, she started on Okwyia’s training regimen. However, in the fall of 2009 what began as an intermittent pain in her right hamstring escalated and became constant. After hobbling through the 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, where she still managed to finish second (1:10:08) to Shalane Flanagan, her coach insisted she seek treatment for what Burla assumed was inflammation.

Burla traveled to New York City to see specialist Daniel Hammer, who initially thought it was bursitis. After a scan, she was told that it was a malignant tumor, synovial sarcoma, that had replaced one of the muscles in her right hamstring. At the end of February 2010, she returned to New York for surgery to remove part of her hamstring. Her surgeon could not find any athlete who had had this surgery. He also could not guarantee Burla could run again, let alone compete, but did believe the prognosis was very good.

Being just happy to be alive and have her leg, and wanting to be with her husband and young son, Boyd, running was no longer what was important to her. However, by April 2010, Burla was able to walk-run for the first time since her operation. And she has been moving forward ever since. In January, 2013, she won the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston. Then at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, she placed 10th in the marathon with a time of 2:31:06. She followed that with a PB of 2:26:53 for 4thplace at the 2017 Osaka Women’s Marathon.

Through all of the adversity and ordeal in her life Burla has become an inspiration and motivating presence for others, and often speaks about her life and running experiences. She is, in her own words, “a two-time cancer survivor, wife, mother, loud laugher, positive thinker and lover of life.” ​

"My coach knows me better than I know myself. He knows I operate best by focusing one day at a time on the task at hand. I put my faith in him and the training. When it comes to the big race days, things have gone well when I followed the race plan and listened, and not well when I improvised."- Serena Burla

Part 2The Serena Burla Interview by Charlotte L Richardson

What is your favorite coach story? Something that a coach of yours said or did that made a difference in your life and running?I have so many stories I could write a book, but it is the relationship we built and the ups and downs we weathered together that made a difference in my life and running. It all centers back on the love and caring component of a good coach.

There was a distinct time when I wanted to knock Isaya off his bike because he was being so hard on me during a training run, but the PR and hug at the finish line several weeks later more than made up for it.

Both my dad and Isaya cared and loved me no matter what and have always been there for me. Neither let me quit when the going got tough, neither felt sorry for me when I was struggling, both used tough love to equip me with a toughness and truth about life.

My dad and Isaya have been incredibly patient as coaches, always making time to talk, and are there with open arms for a hug when needed. They both believe and are two people in which I put all my trust. I recently had a conversation with Isaya about how much a coach sacrifices to be a great coach and he was quick to put a spin on this thought; he said something to the effect that coaching is not a sacrifice because it is something that you love.

How do you and your coach talk about your training and racing goals for the year ahead? How do both of you communicate and work together to achieve these goals?My coach knows me better than I know myself. He knows I operate best by focusing one day at a time on the task at hand. I put my faith in him and the training. When it comes to the big race days, things have gone well when I followed the race plan and listened, and not well when I was improvising, he can sense my energy and attitude in my body language and sound of my voice. Communicating about things on your mind outside of running is important too and helps a coach coach you as a whole.

Finally, if you could describe yourself with one word (or two) what would that word be? What word would you use to describe your coach?Can we all go hug a great coach now instead?-haha

I would say the word “crazy” describes me pretty well. Good old Webster’s online dictionary defines crazy in several ways: 1. Full of cracks or flaws, 2. Being out of the ordinary and, 3. Distracted with desire or excitement

My word for my coach Isaya would be “hero”. If I can be even half the person he is in life, I will have made a difference.

The WRCC Newsletter will now be twice monthly. We have a new Co-Editor, Laura Caldwell, and along with Charlotte Richardson and the W.R.C.C. Committee, we will continue to bring you articles that will be educational, inspirational, and will support you in your job as a coach. There will be interviews with women coaches from the youth, high school, college, and professional levels. We hope to bring you articles about building a team, planning workouts, incorporating strength and conditioning into your programs, coaching leadership and much more to help you as a woman running and field coach. We want to build this community and we need YOUR input to do that!

PLEASE contact us at womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comTell us what you think, what you know, and what you would like to learn.ALL perspectives are welcome and encouraged, and we will try and publish some of the emails. We are looking for good ideas and suggestions!This is your journey too!You ARE the Women's Running Coaches Collective.Melissa HillNikki RafieHelene HutchinsonCharlotte Lettis RichardsonLaura Caldwell

The Women's Running Coaches Collective is excited and honored to bring you an interview with distance runner and cancer surviver, Serena Burla. Her strength, courage, and running talent will inspire and help you understand your role as a coach in an athlete's life. Because of her incredible story, we have decided to publish this interview in two parts - Part 1 in this newsletter along with her biography, and Part 2 on September 13th. Stay tuned!

Serena BurlaRunning HeroBiography by Laura Caldwell

If it seems that Serena Burla has been running for most of her life, she has. Having a father who has coached the Waukesha West girls’ high school track and field and cross country teams for the last 43 years while growing up in Waukesha, WI, encouraged her to begin competing in short distances in the third grade. While at West, Serena led her team to one runner up and three state cross country team titles. After high school, she competed for the University of Missouri in distance races. While a Tiger she was two-time Big 12 Conference runner-up and attained all-American status in the 10,000 meters in 2006.

After college, she married her college boyfriend, Adam Burla, a shot putter at Missouri, moved to St. Louis and hung up her competitive racing shoes, running just for fun. However, as with any competitive spirit, her running career was far from over. Coach Isaya Okwyia of the running group, Riadha (Swahili for athletics) discovered how well she had run in high school and college and felt she had potential. Burla wanted to try the marathon and Okwyia recognized her potential for success.

Planning on training for a few years before running a marathon in the spring of 2010, she started on Okwyia’s training regimen. However, in the fall of 2009 what began as an intermittent pain in her right hamstring escalated and became constant. After hobbling through the 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston in January, where she still managed to finish second (1:10:08) to Shalane Flanagan, her coach insisted she seek treatment for what Burla assumed was inflammation.

Burla traveled to New York City to see specialist Daniel Hammer, who initially thought it was bursitis. After a scan, she was told that it was a malignant tumor, synovial sarcoma, that had replaced one of the muscles in her right hamstring. At the end of February 2010, she returned to New York for surgery to remove part of her hamstring. Her surgeon could not find any athlete who had had this surgery. He also could not guarantee Burla could run again, let alone compete, but did believe the prognosis was very good.

Being just happy to be alive and have her leg, and wanting to be with her husband and young son, Boyd, running was no longer what was important to her. However, by April 2010, Burla was able to walk-run for the first time since her operation. And she has been moving forward ever since. In January, 2013, she won the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston. Then at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, she placed 10th in the marathon with a time of 2:31:06. She followed that with a PB of 2:26:53 for 4thplace at the 2017 Osaka Women’s Marathon.

Through all of the adversity and ordeal in her life Burla has become an inspiration and motivating presence for others, and often speaks about her life and running experiences. She is, in her own words, “a two-time cancer survivor, wife, mother, loud laugher, positive thinker and lover of life.”

Part 1The Serena Burla Interview by Charlotte L Richardson

Serena, because we are a women's coaching collective, we would love to get your thoughts on what makes a good coach, and why?First and foremost, a good coach loves and cares about the people and endeavor they are coaching. Due to this factor, a good coach makes the people they coach better athletes and even more importantly, better people. A good coach will be tough on you and challenge you in many ways, and then be able to have a conversation with you about the “why” after the fact. I am pretty sure coaching is one of the most selfless roles a person can fill. A good coach is passionate.

In your Ted Talk ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm4ycfLsQzY) you said your coach, Isaya Okwiya, continued to coach you during your cancer treatment and recovery. Could you talk a little more about this? You said, "he continued to coach using running and life lessons." In many ways this gets to the essence of what a good coach is. It is not just about the running, but how the running fits into life. Please talk a little more about that. Isaya Okwiya has been my rock through the past 12 years. I would not be who I am without him in my life. He has helped me to grow in more ways then I can count, and when I falter he is there to set me straight again, over and over. When I was diagnosed with cancer he essentially coached me through mentally. He helped me keep things in perspective, helped me set the goals to save my life, save my leg and anything else was a bonus. He encouraged me to stay strong and positive, and see the good around me. It was Isaya who told me to focus on what I could control in the situation - my attitude.

He surrounded me with support and helped create a network to keep my spirits high. I grew so much during this period due to his coaching and his ability to keep using phrases and examples he used in training and racing. Isaya continued to coach me even though neither of us knew if I would ever take another running step again; I am forever grateful.

Running is such a mental sport and we rely on quotes, lessons, toughness, memories to get us through to the finish; everyday life isn’t so different. Through cancer I was encouraged to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, to expect the unexpected and to look for ways to improve the lives of those around me, so I did.

I will never forget the night a few months after surgery when Isaya told me I was a little crazy, and he was a little crazy, but that God had given me another chance to run, maybe for a reason. He told me he understood if I wanted to hang it up, but if I didn’t, he would be willing to lead me on the journey to see how far and where my post surgery leg would take me. We are still on that journey eight years and another surgery after a recurrence later. A good coach is patient, keeps the big picture in mind, and believes when others are skeptical.

As a coach of teenagers, I often tell my athletes that training and racing are hard, and that they teach you how to do hard things in your life. I was inspired by your idea (in the Ted Talk) that everyone in their lives will "face something...that will stop us in our tracks and threaten to take control". You then asked the question - "How will you respond?"How did your running and racing prepare you for your cancer diagnosis and subsequent battle? What skills do we learn as athletes that help us face hard things in our lives?A lot of it is what we choose to set our focus on. What choice or choices will you make when times get tough? My coach has a saying that his college coach taught him, “There are two types of people in life, candy asses and distance runners.” I don’t even know what a candy ass is, but every time I think of this quote I smile and I think “I am a distance runner” and I tough it out. In running and racing we reach our goals or grow by putting one foot in front of the other; in life it’s the same-keep forging on. Even if we stop for a moment to cry or feel sorry for ourselves we eventually realize that in running, like daily life, no one else is going to sit there and feel sorry for you or slow down, so pick yourself up and keep going. Regardless of whether you reach your goals or not, we learn on the journey. So go learn.

To be continued...Part 2 will come out on September 13th!

"My coach knows me better than I know myself. He knows I operate best by focusing one day at a time on the task at hand. I put my faith in him and the training. When it comes to the big race days, things have gone well when I followed the race plan and listened, and not well when I improvised."- Serena Burla

Our goal is to provide women coaches and athletespositive support, recognition, education, and community.We believe in the "hands up" approach.Let's help each other become the best coaches we can be.Invite others to join us!womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comSign up for our list!

The WRCC Newsletter will move to a twice monthly publication. We will continue to research, explore, interview, and report on women's coaching in our sport of running and track and field.

The Women's Running Coaches Collective is proud to announce the addition of Laura Caldwell as Co-Editor of our WRCC Newsletter. As a runner, Laura ran at the college and professional levels, achieving both national and international recognition. When at Florida State, Laura Ledbetter Caldwell held the 800 meter school record. In her post collegiate career she ran as a professional distance runner, competing for NIKE. Among her many running accomplishments, Laura placed 8th in the 1987 USA Women's Marathon Championships, won the 1992 Seattle Marathon, won USA Masters 5,000 Track Championship, and was the 1993 USA Masters Cross Country Champion. At age 43 she ran 1:15:52 for a half marathon. Her incredible talent as a runner allowed her success in events ranging from the 800 to the marathon!

Laura Caldwell has been a successful coach at the high school, college, and elite levels. She was a founding member of the Portland, Or. women's running club, Team Athena, and was their first president. As the cross country coach of the girls team at Lake Oswego HS, Oregon, her runners consistently qualified for the Oregon 6A State Meet, and reached the podium in 2007. In the 1980's she was the editor of the successful publication, Racing South Magazine. In 2010 she joined the coaching staff at Furman University. She currently coaches with the Greenville Track Club Elite.

Please welcome Laura Caldwell to the Women's Running Coaches Collective. We look forward to her expertise in coaching and racing, as she helps shape the future of the WRCC in her role as Co-Editor of the Newsletter and as a member of the WRCC.

Sign up for our list!We can also be found on Facebook as"Women's Running Coaches Collective". And you can add to the conversation at our email address - womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comPLEASE tell us what you would like to learn as a coach? What information would you like to make your job more of a success? Who would you like us to interview?We look forward to hearing from you!

This week we will talk about workouts that are specific for pre-season, pre-competition, main competition, and championship competition. The WRCC will help you look at your season as a whole, and then use your season goals to break it down into manageable phases, planning the right workouts at the right time!

​"When I was a competitive runner, I was impressed by the coaches who had a plan. They knew what workouts to give me exactly when I needed them. As I became more experienced as an athlete, and then as a young coach, I began to decipher the “magical” talent some coaches had. I saw that each year should be broken up into segments that addressed the type of training needed for cross country, indoor and outdoor track. I saw the focus and planning that went into each competitive season. And within each season, I understood how it was broken into phases that addressed the workouts needed to make me run my very fastest in the championship races. It was a series of building blocks. Each phase build upon the one before it, finally reaching the championship part of the season."-Coach Charlotte Lettis Richardson

One of the most important tools you have as a coach is the pre-planning of your season. This tool will give you a road map to follow to achieve your training and racing goals for your XC season. As you head into this season you need to ask yourself several important questions. What are my goals for training and racing for the team? What kind of athletes do I have on my team? Where do I want to be at the end of the season? And finally, how do I get there? You will then be ready to make a Plan or Periodization Chart that will map out your season ahead.

Sadly, it is not uncommon for a coach to decide on a workout as she or he steps onto the field. It is also not unusual for coaches to repeat the same workouts over and over again throughout the season without building in any progression. Some experienced coaches have a workout template they use every year, only changing the dates for the new year. But to get the most out of your season, it is important to take into consideration the athletes you have, the races you will run, and the many workouts opportunities you have available. Learn all there is to know about the multitude of brilliant methods and philosophies. Incorporate them into your training bag of tricks. Take the time to look at the ideas and methods other coaches are using. See if they might help you reach you coaching goals for your cross country season.

(Books to inspire - Training for Young Distance Runners by Larry Greene and Russell Pate, Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor and Michelle Hamilton, Daniel's Running Formula by Jack Daniels, Running to the Topby Arthur Lydiard, The Bowerman System by Chris Walsh (Out of Print but try and find!), Joan Benoit Samuelson's Running for Women by Joan Benoit Samuelson and Gloria Averbuch)

When I was a competitive runner, I was impressed by the coaches who had a plan.They knew what workouts to give me exactly when I needed them. As I became more experienced as an athlete, and then as a young coach, I began to decipher the “magical” talent some coaches had. I saw that each year should be broken up into segments that addressed the type of training needed for cross country, indoor and outdoor track. I saw the focus and planning that went into each competitive season. And within each season, I understood how it was broken into phases that addressed the workouts needed to make me run my very fastest in the championship races. It was a series of building blocks. Each phase build upon the one before it, finally reaching the championship part of the season.

What the WRCC would like to do is help you look at your season as a whole. From there, break it down into manageable parts that focus on what workouts need to be completed when, and understanding why.

Below is a very basic chart that puts a season into four basic phases. Pre-Season/Summer, Pre-Competition, Early Competition, and Main Competition. Other phases can be added depending on your needs (Post Season, Recovery, etc). It is for you as a coach to create a plan that will help you to see the season as a whole, and then break it down into parts that focus on specific types of training for each phase. This visual aid is helpful to your assistant coaches, and your athletes, especially your varsity athletes. It helps them understand why you are asking them to to do certain workouts at specific times.Once you have put your season into a chart, you can then begin to break each phase into weeks, individual workouts, and races.

I have used a fictional team to help you understand this process. Remember you will customize your Plan or Periodization Chart for your use and your team. By knowing your goals for each phase of the season and putting in each of the races your team will participate in, you have a training map of how to plan your season. It is quite simple!

Sunday - 8/19 OFF​One day off each week is important for recovery, both physical and mental

A Pre Race Warmup for Cross Country Thank you to everyone for this list! I have "stolen" my ideas from colleagues, PT's athletes, and trainers! Thank you!Charlotte Lettis Richardson

Athletes - Make sure you know the start time of your race. Work backwards about 45 - 60 minutes to begin your warm up. ​Warm up with a 10 - 15 minutes easy jog.Find a flat, open surface (if possible) for your Dynamic Exercises. Mark out about 30 meters.Begin with the slower dynamic exercises and finish with the more active dynamic exercises.

Dynamic Warm up - 30 metersIn and out feet - (Feet and toes inward and gently reach down to touch toes, walk a few steps, feet and toes outward and gently reach down to touch your toes.)Toe walksHeel walksHamstring Stretch - (gently pull your knee towards your chest, grabbing hold behind the knee and lifting up)Quad Stretch - (keep the foot flexed and grab your ankle behind your back. Keep thigh aligned with the hip)Hip flexor stretch - (James Bonds)Over and Under Hurdles - (Imagine your self a mime! Step over the hurdle and duck under the hurdle)Runners Touch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-SoCqdR1x8Prisoner Walks - Hands behind your head, back straight and tall, lift knee up and down, lift same knee to the side and down. Take a few steps and do the other side.Karaoke or grapevine - Arms out to side wide, right leg goes behind left leg and then behind right leg. Stay facing the same direction and come back - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euYH7H-I76c"A" Skip and "B" Skip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFGw5pTcUl44 - 6 x 75 meter Progressive Strides

Time your warm up to finish the strides right as they call you to the starting line!Have fun and run fast!

"We’ve read the alarming statistics on children's inactivity; so how do we encourage participation in something other than a screen? Cross Country is the perfect activity for runners of all abilities. If we build a Cross Country team and get them to join, how do we encourage a team atmosphere for these young runners? How do we get them to like the sport we love? How do we keep them coming to practice and races? And how do we encourage parents to help their kids learn and love the discipline our sport demands?"

Our goal is to provide women coaches and athletespositive support, recognition, education, and community.We believe in the "hands up" approach.Let's help each other become the best coaches we can be.Invite others to join us!womensrunningcoachescollective@gmail.comSign up for our list!

How to Build a Cross Country Team!ByMelissa Hill and Charlotte Lettis Richardson

This week's article is about building a cross country team and the many details you need to think about as you plan your season. Part 2 will be next week, and will focus on planning your XC season. We will talk about workouts that are specific for pre-season, pre-competition, main competition, and championship competition.

"What do you want to accomplish with your XC team? This is the first question you should ask yourself. If you are the head coach, you should write down your goals for your team, and share and ask for input from your coaching staff. This will be a key as you begin to plan your season. Think of these goals as a road map. As you plan your season, these goals will be the map you follow as coaches and team."

Kids today! We worry that they spend too much time on their phones or gaming systems. We’ve read the alarming statistics on inactivity; so how do we encourage participation in something other than a screen? Cross Country is the perfect activity for runners of all abilities. If we build a Cross Country team and get them to join, how do we encourage a team atmosphere for these young runners? How do we get them to like the sport we love? How do we keep them coming to practice and races? And how do we encourage parents to help their kids learn and love the discipline our sport demands? We hope to provide a few answers to these questions.Below is a simple "how to" build and maintain a cross country program. You could be building upon an already existing school program, or beginning from scratch at the middle school or youth and/or adult club levels. With planning, thoughtful preparation, and your love of running, a wonderful team opportunity for runners can be created. Making it fun, keeping it simple but appropriately challenging should be your goal. Running is a simple and pure form of sport, and anyone can be a runner. Remember that every athlete is important and worth your time as a coach. You will find that you will be the one inspired by what your cross country team can accomplish. Good luck and have fun!​Getting Started - If you are lucky enough to get hired as a head coach at a high school, middle school, or youth or adult program that already exists, you are ahead of the game. You now have the opportunity to make the program yours, but still maintain the goals of the school or club. If you are starting from the beginning, there are several tasks you will need to accomplish.

Decide what age group you want to work with. At the high school level you will need to be hired by the A.D. or principal. Check the local high schools and see if they need an assistant coach, or even a head coach! If you are starting a program for club and youth levels, you will need to decide how to structure your program. Will you be a parks and recreation program, a school club, or a community club?

Contact your local school or community recreational office to find out the procedure for setting up a running program/club. There are often coaching skills or information classes you will need to take before you can start. You will probably have a background check, and take a first aid class. The safety and well being of your athletes is of the utmost importance.

Figure out how to reach your target audience depending on who it is - young athletes, joggers, adult runners through schools, clubs, or rec departments. School websites, local newspaper, posters, principals newsletter, etc. Get the information out well before your first practice.

According to individual school or district policy, flyer's may be sent to all district schools either electronically or with physical copies. Social media is a great way to share information about your program.

If you are working with school programs, contact the main office to find out the date of registration for the students. This is a great opportunity to set up a table with flyer's and registration information for students and parents to find out about the program and to sign up. Make sure you have several volunteers there to help meet the students and the parents, and to give them information about the cross country team. ​Recruit knowledgeable coaches and helpers. They are the heart of your program. You will not succeed without a good staff. Find good people who are as passionate about running and coaching as you are. Your choice of staff will make or break the program. Find people who have similar goals. Make sure they are organized and on time. Coaching doesn’t make you rich, but it can make you happy!

Some suggestions for where to find assistant coaches - Former high school and collegiate athletes. They are great because they are still close to the sport, and the skills that are needed. And they have team experience!

Athletes from local running clubs. Teachers and school staff.

Parent volunteers - Parents are always wonderful in terms of support and help with tasks other than coaching. There are some parents who will do a great job as coaches. There are others who are coaching because they want to coach their own child. It is important to make sure all coaches are there for all kids. Unless you know that the parent coach can be detached and objective, it is wise to keep parents in volunteer non coaching positions.

Also -Make sure to search your community and local schools for existing running teams. Can you build upon what already exists? Can these established groups help you to set up your program? Always best to build upon rather than recreate!

Parent Meeting - For all youth and young adult teams, a date should be set for a meeting with parents and student-athletes. Contact your area high school or middle school to reserve a space to hold the meeting. Reservations are usually taken either in the main office or with the AD. Check with the high school secretary to ask how to go about making this reservation.Posters should be put up in all schools and Park and Recreational offices. An announcement should be put in the school bulletin or rec newsletter with the date of the first meeting and the first practice. Flyer's and registration forms should be left in the front office of each school or on their website. Same with rec. PE teachers should be notified and asked to make an announcement about the XC program in their classes. (Offer to do a "XC day" in their PE class to get more kids interested!)

At the XC parent and athlete meeting you will need to:1 - Introduce yourself coaching staff ("Jill is a long distance runner who loves cross country and ran in college, Mike is a PT who would has a runner on the team and would love to help as a trainer during the season...").2 - Present an overview of the program that includes goals and core values (This will be in Part 2 next week!).3 - Go over the location, dates, and times of practice.4 - Go over your calendar of races and their locations.5 - Review with the parents and athletes your policies, rules, and expectations of behavior.6 - Tell them to go to your website to see your Team Handbook. This will include the schedule of practices and meets, as well as the location and times. Team goals and Core Values can also be included. Include contact information for the coaches. Sign up for volunteer positions. We use Signup Genius. It's free! www.signupgenius.com7 - Go over clothing and shoe suggestions. Fun to have a shoe store rep come in and talk about shoes. 8 - Go over basic nutrition and hydration. Nutritionist would be great! Handouts are helpful to parents so they know what kinds of foods and liquids are runner friendly and necessary.9 - Talk about injury prevention and injury policy. A P.T. or Doctor could do this part.10 - Ask for parent volunteers. www.signupgenius.com is a great site! 11 - Make sure all forms are filled out including medical forms, athlete information cards with contact information, Permission to carpool to meets. (All can be put online on the team website) Talk about any fees that will be collected. BUT make sure parents and athletes know that NO runner will be turned away for inability to pay. Think about setting up a scholarship fund for these athletes.12 - Snacks and drinks for a social time so you can get to know parents, answer individual questions, and have the runners meet their teammates.

Adult Cross Country Team -If you are working as a coach of adult athletes, it is always great to have a informational meeting to explain your goals and philosophy of coaching. this is also an opportunity to establish a good working rapport with your runners. A local restaurant or pub is a relaxed and fun way to get to know each other.

Setting goals for yourself, your coaching staff, and your teamWhat do you want to accomplish with your XC team? This is the first question you should ask yourself. If you are the head coach, you should write down your goals for your team, and share and ask for input from your coaching staff. This will be a key as you begin to plan your season. Think of these goals as a road map. As you plan your season, these goals will be the map you follow as coaches and team.

Important questions to ask - What do I want to accomplish as a coach this season? What do we want to accomplish as a team? How will we accomplish these goals?How will I know if I have accomplished these goals?

Once you have answered the above questions you can begin to map out how you want to approach your season. If your goals are to create a XC team for middle schoolers that is a positive, healthy,and fun experience you will know how you want to structure your practices. If your goal is to have a competitive high school team with both varsity and jv athletes, this will dictate how you train and race. Ask each of your assistant coaches to set goals. Knowing that all of your goals are compatible is important. This is your job as a team leader/coach. Have a meeting with your staff to discuss their goals. Work together to make a plan to get there.

Each athlete should also have goals. Next week in Part 2 we will talk more about this and have a sample goal setting sheet for individual athletes. Kids like having direction and structure, and a goal sheet will help them focus on what they want to accomplish during their season.

The beginner athletes will need help with the goal sheet, but will enjoy setting realistic goals that they would like to accomplish.

More experienced runners will have more sophisticated and specific goals, but they should be encouraged to be realistic. It is best to make the goals less time oriented and more effort based. Example - rather than setting a goal of running 11:30 for 2 miles they should be encouraged to race competitively and focus on the effort. The times will come! For the beginner runner it may be as simple as finishing the race! There are goals for the whole season, goals for a specific race, and daily goals.

The First Day of PracticeThe first day will be the hardest and most challenging, BUT if you organize and plan ahead, it will go smoothly!

Set the time and place for the first practice. Make sure you have collected emails for all the students and parents, and remind them several times about the location and time of the practice.

On the first day, have parent volunteers and coaches help to sign kids in, and to help register new kids. Have a table set up, pens and forms ready to go. As soon as the kids have signed in, send them to the "warm up " area to stretch and chat with friends. Keep a volunteer with this group and area. The kids who have not handed in their forms should not practice with the team. They can come to the team meeting and watch the practice, but not participate. This is important! You want to have all the paperwork completed and signed. This protects the child, the staff, and the program!

The first 5 minutes of practice should be a team meeting. Make it short and fun!! Introduce each of the coaches and have them say a FEW words. Call them "Coach Kathy or Coach Wilson" so the kids know how to address them. It is important to state a few simple goals for the season and for the practice. ("We are going to have fun, learn about running cross country, get in shape, and be a strong team." "Today's practice we will teach you how to warm up and we will look at your running form.") Every practice should start with a brief meeting to make announcements, talk about upcoming meets, and to state the goal and plan for the days workout. Just keep it brief! Workouts should be organized and planned well before the season begins. You can always change if the circumstances change! The first few practices should be team oriented and focused on skills you want them to learn...dynamic warm up, stretching, drills, etc. It is important to let them know that each practice has a routine and structure so they know what to expect. Routines help kids know what your expectations are also!

Gather together right before the end of practice. Say a few encouraging words, and have the athletes create a team cheer for everyone to be a part of!

At the end of each practice the runners need to know they must check out before they go home. Make sure there is a sign out sheet. Give one of the coaches that responsibility. (If a child is missing, it is important that you know whether or not she or he signed out!) This is a good precedence to set especially when you start going to cross country meets.

A success story - West Sylvan Middle School Cross Country TeamInterview with former Coach Melissa Hill - West Sylvan Middle School in Portland, OregonWest Sylvan Middle School was first in the city of Portland, Oregon to have a Cross Country Team. Melissa Hill has been a leader and innovator in youth running, building the successful West Sylvan program and keeping it fun, age appropriate and cool. Below are some tips and ideas from Coach Melissa to help you as you build your Cross Country program.

How did the XC team at West Sylvan Middle School get started?I moved to Portland in 1997 and realized that sports weren't offered through school. My son enjoyed running and as I was a runner with collegiate experience, I wanted to promote a healthy lifestyle and early experience and passion for these youngsters.

Describe how the team is structured and functions...numbers, races,etc.We started with the help of PE teachers and announcements at school. We had a large team the first year, around 55 runners. We participated in Portland Parks and Recreation XC meets, and USATF meets on Saturdays for our more serious runners. How did you recruit volunteers and coaches to the program?I had a few parents help, some were runners, some helped with apparel and planning, photography, etc. Portland is a great running community and there were lots of helping hands.

What was the toughest part about starting the XC program?All the little details-paperwork for meets, messages to the parents, staying organized.

How involved was the school administration? How did you approach them in the beginning?It helped having our middle school PE teacher enthusiastically supporting our program. Later on, the middle school principal also became a staunch advocate for our program.

What is your proudest accomplishment with the XC team?That a majority of the runners still run years later and enjoy it! Many went on to run in high school and college, and are still running!

What has really worked with the XC program in terms of training?We make the program FUN and progressive, everyone has a chance to work themselves into shape and work to achieve the success they desire.

What advice would you give a new team getting started?Keep it simple!

How do you get kids involved and how do you keep them involved?We talk a lot about what it means to be on a team, have team leaders for dynamic warm ups, elect team captains. For many athletes the social aspect of being on a team is the main reason they come out for XC. The team means so much to them, and the friendships they develop.

How has the program changed over the years?The coach has become a bit more organized!

What is the most challenging part of working with middle schoolers?I love it and don't perceive any problems, but some would say their attention spans. They are also growing rapidly and dealing with growth issues, and puberty is challenging for them.

What is the most fun part about working with middle schoolers?Their energy!

How do you approach the competitive part of running cross country?We work progressively in our training, and talk and work on competitive situations prior to our meets.

Do you have a favorite story or two to tell us about coaching West Sylvan?Favorite-the scary stories come to mind-I had a runner who forgot his asthma inhaler and continued to run through an asthma attack and when he finished he was barely breathing-that was an unforgettable and terrifying moment.Some favorite memories are of the wonderful young runners I have had the pleasure to know-to see them grow into such fine young adults. I remember three runners going on a 6 mile run and not coming back for hours-they had been eating blackberries!

Fast forward to 2018, now some of the very runners who started out in my program are now coaching for Runner2Runner! I love the full circle!

How do you get parents involved and what roles do they play?We have a parent meeting each season and I ask for help at that time. I specify jobs that are needed with a job description. The website www.mailchimp.com is a good way to stay in touch with the parents, and www.signupgenius.com has a great sign up app for volunteers. Both are free!

How do you plan the workouts for the season and for each day?I have a template that I use from year to year, but even more important is to assess your team-what kind of shape are they in, what is their running "age"? We are aware of weather and environmental factors at our practices.

Do you have any organizational secrets to running a large cross country team?Try to anticipate questions from parents and runners, stay up on communication emails or notes at home, publish your schedule, and give reminders to your team about that schedule... constantly. And have a plan for each day. Be organized and well-staffed to make sure all athletes have a coach or two they can call their own!

Next Week - How to plan your season's workouts and races! A "how to" on Periodization of your season, and what to focus on during different phases - pre-season, pre-competition, main competition, and championship competition. We will also look at goal setting for your athletes, and how to help them set realistic but challenging goals!